What the heck am I gonna do with my life?!

Like any other senior in high school, I have been looking at colleges and where I might want to go after high school. However, how many of us even know what we want to major in?? It’s great if you’ve got your heart set on some kind of a career or vocation…but honestly, what 17 year-old really knows what they want to do for the rest of their life??

I was suffering great anxiety because I just couldn’t narrow down what it is I might want to do or be “when I grow up”…lawyer? No; doctor? Not interest; teacher? Eh; what to do, what to do!!!

Finally, after talking it out with my Mom and really assessing what I’m interested in, I’ve decided to pursue a career as a Marine Biologist. Last year I had a Marine Biology class and I loved it, and I get along very well with my teacher – I will be his assistant next year. Then I looked into what kinds of jobs I might be able to get, and I was happy that there seem to be a wide variety of applicable positions – teacher, researcher, facility operator/educator, rescue operations, etc. I even saw several government job postings for marine biologists, so that was all very encouraging.

NOW I would finally look into different schools! After all, it’s kind of hard to decide where you want to go if you don’t know what you want to do! Right now, I am looking at universities overseas – primarily Europe. I know, there are great marine bio universities right here in the good ol’ USA, but I’ve always wanted to attend school in Europe and now is my chance.

Besides, I’m young, I’m adventurous…it’s time to go out and see the world; to experience different people, cultures, landscapes, food, etc. while I’m young and have the opportunity.

I’ve very excited and have been researching universities like mad…of course, financial aid plays a big part into where I may wind up going, so we shall see what side of the “pond” I wind up on. 

After going through this process, I can offer a little advice if you’re not sure what you want to do…you really have to do an honest assessment about your interests and what you are good at or could excel at. Let’s face it – if you’re not very good at math and science, then chances are you won’t excel as a research scientist. On the other hand, if you’re not very good at English or writing, then becoming a reporter or author probably aren’t good choices, either.

Be honest with yourself – that’s the #1 piece of advice I can offer you. After you determine what you are actually good at or excel at, then you can look at existing careers and jobs and see if any of them interest you. The next step would be to shadow someone in that job or research it thoroughly online. Do you know what these people actually do everyday? What kind of education is required to get the position you ultimately want? Are there local companies where you might be able to volunteer or intern at to gain some first-hand insight into what they do?

Above all, don’t despair if you really can’t think of anything; there are many, many, millions of people in the world who don’t have “careers”, but have “jobs” and they are perfectly happy people. Make the best choices for yourself, and you will most likely be happy, too! 